I am frequently asked about protein supplements; do you need
them, will they help with recovery, muscle growth and weight loss? There isn’t
a simple answer so this week I am going to analyze protein supplements and
dairy based proteins specifically because they are far and away the most common
form on the market.
Before I get started it’s important to point out that many
believe that milk is not fit for human consumption. Cows milk has been blamed
for various maladies such as being responsible for acne, making kids smell like
cows and even blowing up barns! (1)(2)(3)
While all that seems a little extreme there is a legitimate
reason to doubt whether or not animal milk is an essential part of the human
diet. First it is one of the more highly processed foods you will find. It is
pasteurized at high temperatures and homogenized, together these processes
contribute to the destruction or alteration of essential fats, enzymes and
nutrients. This makes it difficult for many to digest milk and to absorb any of
the nutrients that may survive all of that processing. Pasteurized cow's milk
is the number one allergic food in the United States. (4)
So why even bother with milk or other dairy products? The
simple answer is it’s complicated.
Consider that alternative milks such as almond, rice and
coconut contain little if any protein unless they are infused with some other
form of processed protein. So be aware if you were counting on the milk in your
child’s cereal or glass with meals contributing to their overall protein
intake. For this reason telling someone to avoid animal milk may be
irresponsible if the family struggles to get the child to consume other forms
of protein. It’s better to get nutrients from an average source than to be
malnourished. Getting children to eat a nutritionally adequate diet is a
process and once your children starts consuming more eggs and chicken for
example then it would be an opportune time to wean them off animal milk and try
an alternative if you so choose.
And don’t worry about the full fat.
Whole Fat Milk Leads
to Greater Muscle Growth?
I haven’t discussed the role of dairy in muscle growth yet
in spite of the fact that it’s surely of interest to you – so let’s get to it
now. Researchers compared skim
milk to whole milk in the post-training period to see which would produce greater
anabolic (muscle building) effects.
They pitted 14oz of skim milk against 8oz of whole milk, to make them
calorically equal.
Theoretically, the results should be equal or possibly in
the favor of skim milk, since it had six more grams of protein. The research actually showed that whole
milk was more effective than skim, though, despite the lower protein content
and equal total calories. This is
another notch in favor of whole-fat over fat-free, and while it is just one
study, at the very least it seems clear that fat (specifically milk fat), is
certainly not going to inhibit results if consumed post-training.
Whole-fat dairy from grass-fed cows contains a boatload of
powerful vitamins and healthful fatty acids. These vitamins are fat-soluble, meaning they are bonded to
the fatty acids in the dairy, and are therefore nearly non-existent in fat-free
dairy (the same goes for the fatty acids, too, obviously). The fat is where vitamins A, D, E and
K2 are, as well as CLA, butyric acid, omega-3 fatty acids, trans-palmitoleate
and medium-chain triglycerides.
Low-fat and fat-free dairy are woefully lacking in all these areas.
CLA is present in human body fat in proportion to dietary
intake, and has been shown to be a potentially powerful ally in the fight
against cancer. Meat and dairy
from grass-fed animals provide the richest source of CLA on the planet,
containing three to five times more CLA than feedlot-raised animals. CLA has been found to greatly reduce
tumor growth in animals, and possibly in humans as well.
In my mind, and from the totality of the data, it is clear
that if you choose to consume dairy (and I’m not even saying you have to do
so), your best bet for health and body composition purposes would be whole-fat,
grass-fed and gently pasteurized options.
Cultured and fermented products get an even bigger gold star.
However, finding companies that make such products can often
be difficult. To make matters worse, not all organic dairy options are created
equal, and not all are even grass-fed.
In fact, many organic dairies produce milk and dairy that is not
significantly better than conventionally produced grain-fed options.
To find out whether the organic dairy available to you is of
high quality, or even grass-fed, check out this report from the Cornucopia
Institute. (5)
It will provide you with national and local organic dairy
options; as well as how much time their cows spend on pasture, whether they
receive antibiotics, and more.
For example, Organic Valley (read labels, they do have a
100% grass-fed variety) and Thomas Organic (not listed in report but would rank
highly if they were) are two brands that are available locally and likely your
best options. In contrast,
Horizon, the largest organic dairy producer, would not even provide their information
to the Cornucopia Institute. I
don’t know about you, but I am not willing to consume food from a company that
is not transparent about its production practices.
Now back to the original question on dairy based protein
powders. What brands are the best, what should you be looking for, are they a
waste of money? Again my answer is it depends. The most popular form of protein
on the market is whey protein. Casein protein (also from dairy milk) is another
form that is often pushed by supplement companies and touted as a “time
released protein.”
So what’s the difference between whey and casein, is one
better than the other?
During the day and after exercise your muscle needs
fast-assimilating protein such as in quality whey to counteract muscle tissue
breakdown due to the effects of daily stressors and physical exercise.
Slow proteins such as casein have shown to be less effective
than whey protein in supporting your body's immune defenses and promoting
muscle protein synthesis after exercise. Nonetheless, cheese casein has the
anabolic advantage in the long term, and that's due to its ability to induce a
slow steady release of amino acids to your muscle for several hours at a time.
Therefore cheese casein can serve as an ideal muscle food during the sleeping
hours of the night.
Your quality cheese products should come from premium,
preferably raw aged cheese such as cheddar, colby, gouda, swiss and emmanthal,
or fresh cheese such as organic cottage cheese from pasture-fed cows.
Another option is plain milk, which is largely casein
protein (anywhere between 80-90% of protein content). While most milk is of low
quality due to excessive processing one brand that is pretty good is Thomas
Organic grass-fed whole milk (Plum or Whole Foods). Thomas uses gentle
pasteurization (high temperature, short time), which doesn’t completely
denature or destroy fragile nutrients so it’s a good option and much better
than any casein powders you will find.
The bottom line is don’t get caught up in the flood of supplement
marketing hype! You should not be concerned with things like slow or fast
proteins because your kids probably don’t eat enough vegetables, get adequate
sleep, do eat too much processed food and lack solid training programs. The last thing on your/their mind
should be what kind of protein powder they should be using. If you’ve perfected
all of the other lifestyle factors that influence on and off field performance
then you can take a deeper look into protein type/timing.
In the meantime, stick with whole food sources whenever
possible to ensure adequate protein intake in addition to their plethora of
naturally occurring nutrients that are often stripped out in protein
supplements.
Reference:
(1) Dairy cows cause explosion:
(2) Does milk cause acne?
(3) Cows’ milk makes kids behave like cows!
Dairy Quality Survey
Protein Supplement
Buying Tips:
Most whey proteins provide some benefit. But, due to the
ingredients, the source of the whey, the concentration of beneficial nutrients,
or the type of processing, many whey products simply don't deliver what they
promise. I need to point out that I have WASTED a lot of money on protein
supplements over my athletic/professional career and because of that experience
I can state with confidence these drinks are not necessary! They are fine if
they compliment a well balanced diet.
Avoid all casein
protein powders! They are all highly processed garbage.
Choose all-natural,
pasture-fed cows' whey, NOT pesticide-treated, grain-fed cows' whey
Choose whey made without
GMOs.
Cold processed, NOT
heat processed
Most whey is heat processed which:
Makes the whey acidic and nutritionally deficient
Damages the immuno-supportive micronutrients and amino acids
Makes whey inadequate for consumption
Cold processed whey protects the nutrients in their natural
state.
Acid-free processing,
NOT Acid / Ion Exchange Processing
Whey protein
concentrate, NOT protein isolates
Protein isolates are proteins stripped away from their
nutritional cofactors. There are three problems with that...
All isolates are exposed to acid processing.
Your body cannot assimilate proteins in isolated form.
Due to over-processing, isolates are deficient in key amino
acids and nutritional cofactors, such as fats and enzymes.
Many protein powders
both whey and non-whey could contain dangerous levels of heavy metals like
mercury, lead, cadmium, and arsenic.
A Consumer Reports' evaluation showed some leading brands of
protein powders exceeded United States Pharmacopoeia's (USP) recommended safety
limits for certain heavy metals.
Brands that meet most of these criteria (ranked in order of
quality)
Action Whey (hands down the best on the market, but also
pricey)
Miracle Whey
Tera’s Whey
Reserveage Organics Grass Fed Whey (best value)
True Athlete Whey Protein (lowest price)
I have tried all of these and none of them are awful.
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